[TowerTalk] PowerPole connectors

[Jim Lux]

On 11/17/14, 10:49 AM, Bill Turner wrote:
> ------------ ORIGINAL MESSAGE ------------(may be snipped)
>
> On Mon, 17 Nov 2014 10:10:13 -0800, you wrote:
>
>>
>> Powerless are optimized for intermittent, field operation of dc equipment. Once installed correctly, you cannot plug something in wrong polarity, even if fumbling around in the dark. I now buy ONLY 12v supply equipment, and I immediately cut the power cords and install PPs. That way I can power/charge every single piece of gear from a common power source ranging from car battery to wall wart to bench PS.
>>
>> Using them in the shack for permanently installed gear is somewhat of a waste, but very convenient.
>>
>> Tom
>> kf7rsf
>
> REPLY:
>
> Couldn't you do the same with the spade type male and female
> connectors that have been around for decades at a fraction of the
> cost?
>
> Use the male for the negative source and female for the positive
> source and you can't plug them in wrong either. Insulated, of course.
>

If your time is free, and you don't mind carrying tools around, sure.

You could also solder the wires to the lugs and not have to worry about 
dropping the screw.

It's kind of like the AC receptacles in your house.  You could use screw 
lugs and your appliances could have spade or ring lugs, but that would 
make vacuuming the house a bit inconvenient.


If you want something better than a terminal strip, but not a plug/jack, 
the new style terminal strips with a captive screw that clamp onto the 
end of the stripped wire are MUCH better than old style barrier strips 
and ring lugs.

I like power poles because they are polarized (unlike, say, dual banana 
plugs, of which we have dozens in the lab at work).. Yes, with dual 
bananas, you can put a reverse biased diode across the terminals so that 
if you plug it into the power supply backwards, you don't blow up the 
circuit, but still, having a polarized plug is nice.

For low current circuits, modular jacks are nice, as long as you don't 
have a lot of mate/demate cycles, and as long as you need 8 or fewer 
conductors.